Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"And the rocket's red glare..." Liberty Wreath

To continue my posts on patriotism, I grant you my
Liberty Wreath!!! TADA :D


Anyway, yesterday I was on.a.roll.
So after finishing our windsocks I wanted to make rockets!
No, not those kinds of rockets {although my 8 year old keeps saying that's what he's going to do when he grows up..make Rockets}
When I was at my doctor's office the other day (again) I was in the waiting room reading some magazine and I saw this cute little rocket made out of toilet paper rolls. Now for the life of me I can't remember what magazine it was but you can also find them all over blog land. I will give you my version here. My wreath is my burlap ruffle wreath you'll find on my side bar. I love.love.love. this wreath with a capital L.
Why?? You ask....well because since it's made out of a plastic covered straw the possibilities to decorate it are endless. ENDLESS I SAY! {If you don't believe me just stick around for the rest of the summer and watch me transform this baby over and over}
Ok, where was I? Oh, yeah, so I wanted to make a 4th of July wreath. I wanted to make it festive and colorful.
I went out and brought my burlap spring wreath inside. I removed the pinned flowers and bird's nest. I dusted it a bit and began planning my placement of the rocket!
First here's the stuff you'll need:
Wreath form (either foam or straw-don't remove the plastic!)
Assorted ribbon in red, white and blue (coordinating patterns)
Hot glue gun or Mighty Mend IT glue
pins
scrap paper (red white blue and patterns)
scrap flowers or fabric or paper flowers
scissors
toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls
1 inch white star stickers
White letter stickers
2 wooden skewers
4 white cardstock stars

First create your ruffled wreath.
You can read all about making the wreath here>>Burlap Ruffle Wreath

***Next create your rocket***
I only had an empty paper towel roll so I simply cut it in half.
You are only going to use one rocket (unless you're feeling REALLY patriotic and want 2 rockets on there. Go ahead with your bad self!)
I took the cardboard roll and spray painted it red. Now, you can do this or just cover it with red paper or blue or whatever patriotic color you want.
After this, you will take the star stickers and place them on your roll. I just placed them where they would be visible since you won't see the back {it will be glued to the wreath}. Glue on any other embellishments that you have.


^^^^^
Draw a circle on contrasting paper. Cut around it and then cut a slit halfway into the circle. This will be the rocket's top.
Loop it around itself and glue it shut so it looks like a cone.
Set aside. Next you will take some ribbon and glue the tips together to form a loop. You can make it as long or short as you can. Play around with it before cutting. Make three of these and glue to inside edge of cardboard roll. Now you can put some glue on the top edge of the cardboard and put the cone top on. Hold in place.
TADA! Isn't it cute? I love it.






You will glue it on your wreath wherever you like keeping in mind that you will need to add some balance to the opposite side of your wreath {that's the artist in me talking, always gotta balance it}
Now, get your skewers and cut them down at the top to about halfway. You want to leave the pointy end intact because you'll need it to insert into your wreath. Take some ribbon and glue one end of it to the stick. Twirl it around and around until you cover the skewer completely. Glue the end.
Next, I went to my Cricut and cut 4 white stars at 2 inches. {I did the same for the 1 inch stars but those were cut out of white vinyl}
You will take your stars and glue them onto the top of the skewer. You want it to look 3D.

              Sorry it's blurry my hand still shakes a lot {after effects of my stroke :( }



Stick the "sparklers" into the wreath right behind the rocket.


Make some flowers:





Using ribbon I just folded and twisted and turned into a flower. I then cut out a 3 inch paper flower out of coordinating paper on my Cricut {using the Plantin Schoolbook Cart} and glued it on the ribbon flower. I then finished it off by gluing a crystal stone/bling.
For the white flower on the top, I simply used a ribbon embellishment and went round and round, gluing here and there, until it looked kinda flowery ;)
The denim came from an old shirt I don't wear. I cut up right next to the button strip and then wrapped and twisted until it resembled a flower. I glued it with my Mighty Mend It.
The denim Liberty banner came from the same shirt. I simply cut out the letters again with my Cricut and put them on the fabric.
I then pinned the flower and the banner onto my wreath. The reason I pin is that I can easily remove it later, and it actually holds up better than the glue.
I wrapped red ribbon around the top half of the wreath to add a bit more oomph and placed the white flower on it.
The tag is just a wooden tag I had and painted it white. I then cut out a number four and mod podged it on. I tied it to the wreath with twine.


You can dress it up as much as you want. I had SO much fun making this wreath and my head is swimming with ideas for next month's wreath {remember that word swimming ;)}
I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. Have a great Fourth of July!






PS Here are some links to other rockets:
Tatertots and Jello
Alpha Mom

Linking up to these fabulous blog parties :)
Met Mondays
Inspiration Fridays
Delightful order
Amaze Me Mondays
Sunday Showcase
Tatertots and Jello
a bowl full of lemons
Before and After Party

Would you like to comment?

  1. Adorable wreath!!

    Thanks for linking it up!! I shared it on my TT&J facebook page :)

    xoxo
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  2. I absolutely LOVE this! I think the little "ruffles" with the burlap are a fantastic touch and the whole thing looks so fun and festive. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Inspiration Friday this week!
    Vanessa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can you explain how to make the ruffles. I didn't see directions for that part. This is very cute but I am challenged in the sewing dept.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Patty!

    I love this patriotic wreath, especially the rocket! I'd love to pin this to the Home Depot Wreaths pinterest board if you don't mind!

    Cheers,
    Caroline
    Senior Editor, homedepot.com

    ReplyDelete

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